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How cyber secure is your business?

May 16, 2017

In February the new National Cyber Security Centre was officially opened by the Queen. As part of GCHQ it will become the UK’s centre of excellence on cyber security. Its aim is to make the UK the safest place to live and do business on line.

Its existence, along with £1.9 billion of funding, shows how seriously the government is taking the threat of cyber security. Are you taking it as seriously for your business?

A recent survey suggested that 66% of British companies are chronically understaffed when it comes to managing cyber security. They simply don’t have the specialist resource to adequately face dangers of being online.

There may be a cost involved in staying safe online, but it is nothing compared to the cost of getting caught out by a hacker. Let’s take a look at some of the dangers out there in 2017.

Common cyber security threats to business

As the importance of the internet has grown in all our lives, so have the ways in which it can harm us. Here are some of the most common cyber security threats to businesses:

Password attacks – These are exactly what they sound like. Attempts to break your passwords so illicit entry can be gained to your systems. They can take a variety of forms including brute force – where a program tries to guess your password with a high volume of automated attempts.

Phishing – When a crook impersonates a reputable company and tries to trick you into giving security information which they can then use to access your accounts.

Malware – Nasty sounding things like worms, viruses and Trojans that infect your systems and either break them or hand control to criminals.

Denial-of-Service attacks – DoS attacks for short, these are targeted campaigns to render a system unusable by sending huge volumes of traffic through them. The system gets overwhelmed and stops working.

What is the impact of a cyber security breach?

If your business did suffer a cyber security breach it might affect you in a number of ways.

System shutdown. Some forms of attack lock you out of your own files, grinding your operations to a halt. This could lead to a huge cost in lost productivity.

Your website could be hacked and hijacked. Hackers sometimes take your website down or post their own content on there.

Reputational and commercial damage. In an industry survey reported in 2016, 75% of UK respondents said they would stop doing business with a company if they discovered it had been hacked.

Help with cyber security

Growing businesses often don’t have the budget to have a dedicated in-house IT team that can ensure the organisation follows best practice for staying safe online. But Premieredge can help.

We can ensure that your business takes sensible precautions to minimise the risk of an attack and have robust contingency plans in place if a breach were to take place. At a fraction of the price of an in-house resource, it is a great solution for keeping your organisation safe as it grows.

We can help with secure back up, encryption, anti-virus, training, cybersecurity, firewalls and proactive monitoring. But we love to listen to your needs first. So give us a call to explain your situation and we will make suggestions that match your requirements and your budget.

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'Premieredge have continued to work with us consultatively to achieve what we need within our often limited budgets'